Christmas 2014

Christmas morning was spent at my parent's house.  We started a tradition of staying in El Campo for Christmas morning when Emmarie was born.  The tradition began because Bradley was working nights at Haliburton, and I wanted him to be able to spend any time that he had during his waking hours with us during the holidays.  We really enjoyed the slow pace and simplicity of being at home for the holidays because we NEVER stayed home during Christmas.  We were always at my aunt or grandmother's house.  Not to take anything away from those memories because Christmas with all of my family is amazing, but there is something special about not having to go anywhere or be on anyone's schedule.

We showed up in our pajamas bright and early (LOL) around 11:00 am.  Mom was cooking breakfast, and we brought our best appetites.  After we were through eating, we moved on to the part Emmy (and secretly all of us) was waiting on--the presents.

She got to open a few presents for little brother first.  She was really excited.  She was even more excited about the Frozen Barbies that she opened next...those were for her of course.







The big kids got to open a few presents during Emmy's reign as well.





Once she was mostly finished with her own presents, she went to "help" Papa with his.



Nana loved her James Avery ring that we got her.





It's really not about the presents at all (even though they are awesome).  Christmas is about getting to spend time with the people that you love and getting to see the joy and love that surrounds everyone during this special time of the year.



Later that afternoon/evening we had Christmas dinner.  I have a "once per year" rule with holiday food, so we decided to make Christmas an Italian affair.  Mom made lasagne; I made spaghetti squash.  It was really good even though it looks like soupy goop in this photo.  Britt made a salad.







Mom even busted out her Christmas dinner set for the occasion.



Right as we were about to eat, we had some Christmas guests show up.  YAY!  Kari finally got to meet Wyatt, and of course he brought his Mommy, Daddy, and Jackson along for the ride.





We had a lot of fun eating, playing games, cuddling the sweet baby, and thinking about how it doesn't get much better than this.  I guess it will get better though because next year, I will have two little babies to rain the Christmas season down upon.  I. Can't. Wait.

Christmas Eve

We spend Christmas Eve at my Aunt Kathy's house.  My Mom's family shows up in force, and we snack away on the best finger foods you can imagine.  We do a white elephant gift exchange and a gag-gift exchange.  We are getting more bold in our choices, and people are starting to become more devious in their strategies and steals.

It is always a beautiful evening of family, fun, and laughter.  This year was no exception. 

Here are some of the foods that we had this year.  Some are traditions (Aunt Kathy's 7-layer dip) and some are new.



And of course we had desserts!



The boy and I in our Christmas Eve duds. 


Christmas is about family, and I think we illustrate that perfectly.



Christmas is also about presents...or at least that's what the littles think.











Every year, I take some photos of all the little cousins.  Our group is growing, and next year there will be at least one more added to the group. (cough cough...Are you having a baby too April?)

Hunter was a year old this Christmas!



Oliver was three years old this Christmas and full of spunk!



Emmarie was three this Christmas too, but I think she might be full of sass.



Halle is our big girl at four years old.  She is a pro at this by now.



Dylan was our newest arrival, and he did a great job of staying still for all the photos.  3 month-olds are good at that.





Getting a group shot of everyone proved a little difficult, so I applied the technique of "snapping, snapping, just keep snapping."  There are at least a few of every child looking even if they are the only one. ;)









When we all get together like this, I try to take a family photo of everyone.  This is something that my mom has done since we were all little.











We try to sneak a few cousin pics and general goofiness as well.





It was an amazing evening and these are the memories that I treasure through-out the year.  We left late, but I didn't mind the drive home because I had lots of blessings to think and meditate on during the drive.

Christmas Cookie Baking 2014

Every year during the Christmas season, I make sugar cookies.  I started this tradition after Bradley and I got married because I wanted something new for our little family.  This tradition has become 100 times more fun now that Emmy is old enough to help and be involved.  She loves to cook, and this year she really was helpful instead of just cute.

I mixed up all of the dough before she woke up.  Although I know she would have enjoyed helping with that part, time was of the essence and I knew the dough needed to chill for a few hours. 

I rolled out all of the dough, and she had a blast seeing which cookie cutters she could get to fit in the available space.  Did she fit as many as I could have?  No.  But she had a good time and maybe she worked on some problem solving skills along the way.





Once we had a batch in the oven, I prepped our cooling/decorating area.  I lined our table with freezer paper to minimize the sticky mess that we would have to clean later.  Please excuse the amazingness that is my outfit.  I decided that pajamas were the order of the day, so I was a little rough looking.


I love her little apron that we bought at the Christmas Mall.  It has Christmas stuff on one side and Aggies on the other.  What a great combo!


We had quite a task before us when it was all said and done.  We called in some reinforcements to help decorate.



Some people put a little more thought into their artistic creations, but they all tasted good.









We all had a great time, and more than just cookies were made that day.  I hope days like these are the things that Emmy will carry with her into her adult days, and the warm memories will remind her that she was loved.